Sigma SD1 / SD1 Merrill In-depth Review

Raw and Raw Conversion

Supplied software

The SD1 is provided with Sigma Photo Pro (v5.2.1 at the time of writing) for developing its X3F raw files. Indeed for more than perhaps any other camera, SPP becomes a fundamental part of the overall experience of using the SD1. If you want to get the best out of the camera, you really need to shoot Raw, and to process Raw you really have to use SPP - there's not really another sensible option.

Sigma Photo Pro is like the camera in more ways than one - it's slow, quirky, and missing some standard features we've come to take for granted in Raw processors. But, again like the SD1, if you're prepared to take the time to work it out and play to its strengths, then it's capable of excellent output. But you'll have to be very patient - did we mention it's slow?

SPP has a number of impressive features - the 'X3 Fill Light' for dealing with high contrast scenes works particularly well, and the ability to display clipping on a per-channel basis is useful - but at the other end of the spectrum is is completely missing such basic functions as straightening or crop tools. There's also no means of correcting for lens aberrations, despite the camera only accepting Sigma's own lenses (for which the company even supplies correction profiles to Adobe). The upshot is that, if you're after the very best results - and there's little point in buying the SD1 if you're not - you'll probably need to export every image to Photoshop for fine-tuning. Needless to say, this is a tedious way of working if you regularly have lots to shots to deal with from a single session.

Sigma Photo Pro is in essence a very simple program. In the main window you can navigate through folders, and display thumbnails of your files.

You can also call up the essential capture information for each image.

The main toolbar offers some very basic viewing and file management options; SPP will recognise images that have been protected or marked in-camera.

Double-clicking a thumbnail will open a 'Review' window, in which you can make changes and fine-tune your raw conversion

Highlight- and shadow-clipping warnings can be displayed in red and blue, unusually (and usefully) on a channel-specific basis. The values at which these will be displayed are also user-customisable.

'X3 Fill Light' has long been one of SPP's most useful tools for control of tonality.

New to v5.2 is the 'Highlight Correction' option, which can improve the appearance of highlights that would otherwise be clipped to pure white.

This shows the effect of the 'Highlight Correction' slider on clipped out-of-focus highlights. In the example on the left it's set to 'Restore', on the right to 'Neutralize'. It's subtle, but can be genuinely effective.

Once you've got the hang of what all of the sliders do, and how they interact, then you'll start to find that the image quality you can get out of the SD1's files using SPP can be spectacular. The software makes it remarkably easy to produce balanced images from scenes with high dynamic range, for example, by offsetting negative Exposure (to recover highlights) against Fill Light (to maintain shadow detail). You can finally tweak your tonality using the shadow and highlight sliders.

The big problem with SPP is its speed - it's very slow at rendering and updating preview images, and you're perpetually left feeling that the SD1's files contain too much data for it to handle comfortably. This is compounded by the fact that it's unable to process raw data in the background, or multitask in any meaningful way. One (minor) saving grace is that you can set up all your adjustments image-by-image, then leave the computer to batch-process its way through them while you have a cup of tea (or more likely a three-course dinner), but to be honest this sort of behaviour is years out of date.

When you first open an X3F file, SPP will initially display a preview based on the embedded JPEG, but you then have to wait several seconds for it to render a genuine preview of what you'll actually get, as the output is distinctly different from the camera's JPEGs. Basic tonal adjustments are previewed in real time, but if you choose a different colour mode or white balance then you have to wait for an updated preview to render all over again. Most frustratingly, to check fine detail you have to click the 'Full Res' button on the toolbar (SPP isn't intelligent enough to do this automatically in the background), then wait for what seems an eternity as the software processes the image just so you can examine it at 100%.

When you first open Raw a file for editing in SPP, it first displays the embedded JPEG; you have to wait a few seconds for it to render a preview of the raw conversion. At high ISOs in particular the two can look very different; this is ISO 6400.

Similar problems occur when you're trying to determine the best noise reduction settings. Normally this is best achieved by viewing the image at 100% magnification, adjusting sliders and deciding which combination looks best for your intended use. But SPP won't update its 100% view if you change the NR settings; it snaps back to full screen mode instead.

Overall Sigma Photo Pro's workflow leaves a lot to be desired; indeed it feels like it comes from a time before the concept was even invented. While the results can be excellent - indeed it's difficult to overstate just how good the SD1 + SPP combination can be at its best - we're not entirely convinced they're worth so much pain.

Raw conversion

Normally we like to compare the supplied Raw conversion software with commonly-used third party Raw converters, most notably Adobe Camera Raw. However Raw support for the SD1 is currently limited to just Sigma Photo Pro, so for the moment that's all we can look at.

JPEG - Large/Fine (default settings)

SPP - Sigma Photo Pro (default settings)

Sharpness and Detail

At default settings and low ISO, the output from Sigma Photo Pro is quite similar to the camera's JPEGs, both in terms of detail rendition and (rather muted) colour palette. It's not identical though; most obviously shadow contrast is a bit higher, which makes images look a little less flat. But crucially, both JPEG and Raw offer exceptional rendition of dine detail.

Resolution

The out-of-camera JPEG and Raw file converted using SPP give essentially identical results in our resolution chart test. Because the Foveon sensor does not use an optical low-pass filter, the SD1 continues to resolve the lines of our test chart beyond the point that a conventional Bayer sensor of similar pixels count would blur the lines together. Inevitably it also shows aliasing and false detail beyond the sensor's Nyquist frequency (3136 lph); while this is technically a flaw, in practice it tends to give an impression of detail and texture that rarely detracts from real-world images. The Foveon design also means that the SD1 is immune to the colour aliasing we often see in these shots.

To update a three and a half year old review a little, as a recent convert to the Foveon sensor in this Sigma (albeit in the DP2 Merrill iteration) I can testify that the latest Sigma Raw processing software, Photopro 6.3, which is used for the SD1 Merrill as well ithe DP2, does not leave much to be desired, at least to a relative newcomer to Raw processing. And this running on Windows 7 on an ancient Core 2 Duo at 2.66Ghz with 4 Gb of memory. There may be frustrations for those who wish to devote more time to arcane debate than taking shots, but on the whole Photpro6.3 hits the spot. Hats off to Sigma....

Is this the 24-70 ART lens that you are using ? I have the 28-80 HF and 18-50DC's but the Chromatic Aberration is shocking with these and I cannot achieve a constant colour, without discoloration around the edges. I was thinking of buying an adapter and looking for a better lens, possibly a Nikon one.

Use a full frame lens like the 24-70 F2.8 EX DG HSM. You will get fantastic results. Use it properly - on a tripod at 100 ISO and F8. Have good light. Shoot raw. Convert to 48bit tiff. Edit with the appropriate skill. If the results don't blow you away, your doing something wrong.

I photograph textiles for a living and I have a love hate relationship with this camera. Some of the results are stunning, then at other times it is infuriating. The fact that I cannot Wifi the camera drives me mad,a friend is trying to solder up a device, so I can attach a ribbon cable to compact flash type 1 holder, then have a type 2 WIFI one mounted externally. I am envious of my colleague that works with a Nikon and uses her iPad to control and tether her camera, with an instant review of the post and final image .

If you shoot at 400ISO or less, use the best lenses, shoot raw and use the latest version of the much improved Sigma raw conversion software, you will be able to upsize your clean artifact free files to around 6700 pixels across giving you an equivilant resolution of a 30MP Bayer sensor. I do this all the time and the results are fantastic. Using a full frame lens on this sensor gives you images that are sharp to the corners and almost distortion free. The 24-70mm F2.8 HSM on this sensor enables image quality way beyond anything I ever shot on a 5D2 or 5D3 with L lenses.. When you get to know the tool and develop skill to use it well, the results will blow you away. Most people want it easier than that. You reap what you sew!

I purchased an SD1 for my business of photographing textiles in a studio situation and I feel totally deflated. The actual image quality is excellent, but the tethering capabilities are pathetic. I expected to be able to click from my PC to launch a shot, then instantly see what I had taken, before moving on to the next item, which sadly is not the case. Their software application known as Sigma Capture Pro should be reported to the trading standards council, as there is nothing 'Pro' about it as it is just a glorified remote shutter release program. Furthermore in order to have access to your images on a PC, you need to go into the menu function on the camera and disable the 'remote capture program' then select mass storage to view your images. Going through this process with every shot, may be good for you cardiovascular system, but for someone who relies on seamless throughput to make a living, this camera is junk.

Tethering capabilities? lol. You are more interested in showing off in front of clients than achieving great results. Re-align your priorities. You do realize that 90% of the time the images are used at 400 pixels wide on a web site - do you? you don't need to check each shot at 100% mag on a full size screen before you know you got it. Give us a break with your grandstanding.

I was looking at the photo comparison today, comparing the SD1 against the new Canon 5 D Mk III, the Nikon D800E, and the Pentax 645 D . . . at ISO 800 . . . and I just can not believe my eyes. Take a look at this:

Sigma Germany has announced a wood-veneered version of its SD1 high-end DSLR. The 'Wood Edition' emphasizes the camera's premium appeal by adding a casing made from Amboyna Burl, an expensive and decorative veneer taken from complex growths on a Southeast Asian tree. The case takes around 60 hours to cut, mill and polish. Ten examples of the special edition will be available, body-only, for a recommended selling price of €9,999. (From PhotoScala)

Just posted: JPEG and Raw samples from the Sigma SD1. We've been using a production Sigma SD1 for a little while now, and although we have only just started our studio testing, we want to share some of our early 'real world' samples with you. In this gallery you will find images of a broad variety of subjects, shot at different ISO settings, in both raw and JPEG mode (albeit using, for now, a very limited range of lenses). We have converted the raw files using Sigma's Photo Pro 5.0 software 'to taste', and performed some minor tweaking of the resultant TIFF files in Adobe Camera Raw.

Sigma has stressed the differences between recommended selling prices (MSRPs) and the 'street' price that most consumers will be expected to pay. In the light of the dissatisfaction expressed about the SD1's recommended price, the company has pointed out that the camera's body-only street price will be around $6,899. The company also announced that its DP2x large-sensor compact is now available for a street price of $699.

Photokina 2010: Sigma has announced the SD1 digital SLR, which uses a brand new 46Mp 1.5x crop Foveon X3 sensor (4800 x 3200 x 3 layers). Designed as the company's flagship camera, the SD1 has a weatherproof magnesium alloy body, 3" 460k dot LCD, and new 11-point twin-cross AF system. Image processing is in the hands of a 'Dual True II' engine that promises improved speed and image quality, and the camera is compatible with the full range of Sigma lenses.

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